Chevrolet Cruze sedan production quality and sales could see third shift return to Ohio

Demand for the Chevrolet Cruze sedan has prompted executives to look at returning a third shift to its Lordstown Ohio production facility.

The Chevrolet Cruze sedan, which will be launched in Australia as the Holden Astra sedan this year to replace the Australian-built Holden Cruze, is currently built in the USA with plans to move production to Mexico quashed recently.

General Motors has been working on ensuring production quality at its international plants meets the high standard required by customers, with Australia’s Cruze/Astra sedan expected to come from South Korea.

Speaking to CarAdvice at the 2017 Detroit motor show, Mark Reuss, executive vice president, global product development, purchasing and supply chain General Motors (and one-time Holden boss), said quality is at an all time high for the company.

“All of our assembly plants are doing well and I’m really proud of our whole assembly system. The team is doing a great job with the new Cruze and did an amazing job with the previous Cruze. I’m always very impressed with the workforce and the quality they are dialling into the plants,” Reuss said.

“That’s not a factor of what we’re doing, not the car itself, we see segments shifting and we need to be agile to handle the market segments. We’ve invested heavily in that market and things ebb and flow. It’s a great car and we’re seeing increased market share here each month.”

Reuss’s job role is quite important for Australia, given his responsibility lies solely in ensuring production quality and keeping the supply chain moving. With the Cruze/Astra sedan expected to sit within a competitive segment in Australia, production quality from South Korea will be essential to the car’s success here.

If the Astra hatch is anything to go by, Australian engineers will have an opportunity to tune ride and handling locally before the car goes on sale later this year. Given the production shift from Germany (with the Astra hatch), we would expect the Cruze sedan to sit at a lower price point in comparison to the Astra hatch.

CarAdvice will be behind the wheel of the new Trax and Cruze sedan later this week, so stay tuned.